Virtual Dork: Infamous Second Son Review

While I've owned a PS4 for the better part of three months now, I've used it mostly to watch Blu-Rays and play free downloadable titles. With the launch of any console comes that inevitable dead period that can last anywhere from a few months to half-a-year in which software is at a premium and exclusives are almost unheard of.

I was eager, then, to get my hands on Sucker Punch's Infamous: Second Son. While I was an Xbox guy in the last generation and, admittedly, haven't played any of the series' titles to date, I'm a sucker (no pun intended) for a good open-world title that gives my character the power to wreak havoc on a massive scale.

What Sucker Punch does well in Second Son, it does as well (if not better) than anyone in the business. Sadly, however, Second Son is little more than a graphical and storytelling step-up from a number of other games already available in the current generation.

The story sucks you in immediately. You're Delsin Rowe, a member of the Akomish tribe whose past is clearly checkered. The player is immediately introduced to the spray-tagging mechanic, a nice use of the DualShock 4's motion sensing and built-in sound system. While I still think motion detection and the controller's touchpad are nothing more than gimmicks, they're used to good effect in Second Son, immersing you further into the game world without becoming too much of a hindrance.

From there, you're off on the grandest of the game's many fetch-quests, to attain cement-altering powers from the game's main antagonist: Brooke Augustine, leader of the Department of Unified Protection who has captured all of the element-controlling superheroes known as "Conduits" (or Bio-Terrorists) in the game world. She's made Seattle her base of operations and you'll have a blast shredding it to pieces with smoke, neon and video powers, each with its own set of visual and combat goodies.

Along the way, you'll make choices about whom to save or who to throw to the wolves; whether you'll use nonlethal force and blast away the bad guys and innocent civilians alike; and learn more about the D.U.P. from an intriguing alternative-reality game (ARG) that takes place in the Seattle game world and on your browser. Infamous: Paper Trail may be the most unique thing the game does and it extends the life of an otherwise repetitive series of missions that never truly opens the sandbox entirely to your will.

Seattle looks gorgeous, Delsin's character is incredibly detailed (down to the buttons on his denim jacket) and you'll want to stop on a rooftop all Batman-like and watch the Seattleites go about their day in a society on the brink of dystopia. In particular, Delsin's relationship with his sheriff's deputy brother, Reggie, is a high point in the game. These guys feel like brothers, and when the weight of the narrative gets too heavy, they're bantering always brings it back to a lighthearted spot.

The cutscenes, which are in some cases artistically rendered as panels in a comic book per the series' stylistic motif, are really the only reason to slog through what quickly becomes a repetitive series of missions that only alter slightly as the game progresses. You'll be doing the same thing on the game's second island as you did on the first - tracking down secret DUP agents by their mug shots, chasing hovering security cameras for their shards that act as the game's currency for upgrading your powers and occasionally choosing whether to decimate a crowd of drug dealers or subdue them and smash their goods. The only thing that changes is how much punishing the enemies can take and the presence of Augustine's cement fortifications. That's it.

Meanwhile, you become much more powerful as the game progresses. In open-world games, I like to knock out all the sidequests so I can be sure my character has an entire arsenal at his disposal in the end game. Because of this, I unlocked the neon karmic streak ability (a devastating attack that slows the game to a crawl and you blast neon juice out of your arms, subduing all enemies in a 2-block radius) rather early on. I also earned the ability to blast at weak subdue points on enemies in bullet-time that made wrapping them up a breeze.

As a result, every combat situation turned in to the same rinse and repeat, subdue enough guys to earn the karmic streak then take everyone else down checklist. Combat became a chore that was as simple as lifting a pinkie, no matter the abilities or resistance of the enemies I faced.

The game rushes to an inevitable showdown with Augustine that does pack a whallup and ingeniously includes the "learning a new power" schtick in the final boss battle that made me feel like a badass. Getting there, however, was another story. You have to climb the tallest tower in the game, and with two allies in tow and hundreds of enemies firing at you, an errant missile is bound to send you plummeting over the edge, which is an instant MISSION FAILED screen. Sure, you respawn rather close to where you were, but in a game that pushes how much of a badass you are falling 10 feet equating to a game over is a ridiculous conceit that pulls you out of the game world.

Infamous: Second Son is the first truly exclusive, next-gen game on the PS4. For that reason alone, I recommend playing the title. But it isn't the huge leap forward in terms of gameplay you'd expect from a next-gen game. It's a better-than-average open world game designed with the last generation in mind that looks simply stunning and is written by people who get storytelling in games.

I recommend a bargain-bin purchase.

Verdict: 3/5 stars.

An Inexplicably Close Look at an Obscure Song: The Ataris "Boys of Summer"

When I was a kid, like many I dreamed of rock and roll weekends. I even held a bass at one point and attempted to learn the instrument, despite having the rhythm of some combination of Anthony Michael Hall characters from the 1980s.

There were two names I wanted for my band, to be emblazoned across the drum set as I made young women swoon with my delicious licks. The first was The Ecto-Coolers. The second was The Ataris.

As far as I know, the Hi-C inspired moniker is still up for grabs. I was devastated when I learned sometime around the 10th grade my back-up dreams were dashed.

If you're going to name yourselves after the early 80s video game console of choice, you better be damn good. The Ataris seemed it when I started listening to their music right around junior high. "Angry Nerd Rock" is still one of my angsty favorites from those days, when American Hi-Fi and Mest were on repeat in my portable CD player and Dude Where's My Car? was in my VCR.

Ahem. Back off the nostalgia train.

"Boys of Summer" never really made much sense to me. I mean, yeah, I understood it when it was played at baseball stadiums and whatnot, but the whole concept seemed dated, even in the 1980s. Was Don Henley singing about gypsies? Who were these boys, and more importantly, where did their female counterparts come from? Are there hordes of young attractive people who burrow themselves underground in winter and show up for sex, drugs and rock and roll in the summer? Is that what those Disney internships are all about?

The Ataris cover of the 1984 hit answers none of these questions, and it also avoids what a good cover song should do - that is, take a song and change its style, message or some other facet to make it your own. For example, the millions of ska/punk covers of 80s songs. Or Authority Zero's (contemporary with The Ataris) cover of "Mexican Radio."

What we get with The Ataris is a straightforward, power pop version of a song that was already a straightforward, power pop piece that is the musical equivalent of a corn dog - battered with sweetness, but unfilling and leaving you with regret.

The Ataris would have been better off covering the Juno First theme song. But maybe I'm just looking into it too closely.